Survival Manual of the Science Fiction World

Chapter 227 Confession (2)

But the loud conversations of people nearby always reached his ears.

"Something terrible has happened! I heard someone died in the elevator next door!!"

Shinichi Kudo frowned slightly, determined to finish his sentence: "Ran, what I actually wanted to say was—"

"It's our club president! He was shot through the head!!"

Shinichi Kudo straightened Ran's head, which had been leaning to the side, and forced himself to finish speaking: "Ran, actually—"

Xiaolan couldn't help but laugh: "Okay, so you really want to solve cases, don't you? Go ahead, great detective, I'll be waiting for you to come back."

Hearing Xiaolan's words, which sounded like a flag, Chu Ming put the camera on the table and exchanged a glance with Hattori.

Just as Shinichi Kudo stood up and said he would be right back, two people suddenly appeared behind him, each holding one of his shoulders and pressing him back into the chair.

Shinichi Kudo felt a sudden, intense force on his shoulder and sat back down in his chair, looking completely bewildered.

"Leave this case to the two of us. You focus on your confession. We'll let you know when the case is over," Hattori said cheerfully to Shinichi Kudo, flashing his bright white teeth.

Ran across from him was blushing bright red from Hattori's confession.

Chu Ming patted Shinichi on the shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Ai's previous experimental data shows that you will shrink in about half an hour. If you do that, you won't have enough time to solve the case. You should hurry up and do what you need to do. Leave the case to me and Hattori."

Shinichi Kudo, who was initially a little itchy, decisively pushed his two friends out when he heard that he didn't have much time left: "You two go solve the case, and I'll discuss with you later why you two ended up here!"

The last few words had a rather gritted-teeth feel to them.

Chu Ming and Hattori shrugged, completely unafraid. With Kudo Shinichi's frail little body, who could he possibly beat?

Deliberately leaving the camera behind, Chu Ming and Hattori planned to quickly resolve the case and then continue to observe Shinichi Kudo's confession.

Chu Ming was all too familiar with this case. The father and son who committed the crime were solved by the father and son detectives. As a result, Shinichi Kudo, after solving the case, became Conan, leaving Ran alone sitting by the window waiting for Shinichi to return. And this wait lasted for a whole year in the world of Detective Conan...

By this time, Inspector Megure had arrived at the scene. Chu Ming, still preoccupied with the gossip he hadn't finished reading, pointed directly at Oba Satoru after Inspector Megure finished his questioning and said, "You must have killed President Tatsumi, right?"

Oba Satoru was taken aback by his decisive identification: "What nonsense are you talking about? Officer, who is this kid? What gives him the right to—"

Chu Ming didn't want to waste words with him; he was eager to see the end of the gossip: "Miss Chensi just said that you touched her left ear with your left hand and that you chose a necklace that matched the color of her earrings, right?"

"First, why do you insist on using your left hand when you could clearly do it with your right hand? Is it because you're holding a gun in your right hand?"

"Secondly, Hattori just found a plastic bag and a pair of gloves in the doll's eyes. Those must have been what you used to hide the gunpowder reaction, right? They can detect your fingerprints."

"Third, and most importantly, Ms. Tatsumi just mentioned that she bought her pink pearl earrings today, and you hadn't seen them before, right? So how did you spot the color of the pearls in the dimly lit stairwell? In the dark, pearls would only appear gray, unless you opened the elevator door midway through the stairwell..."

Chu Ming spoke at an extremely fast pace, his rapid-fire words leaving Ooba Satoru speechless, and in the end, he could only let out a dejected smile.

“Yes, I…”

Chu Ming waved his hand, it was time for the part where the murderer would state his reasons and the detective would elevate the theme, which was his least favorite part.

"Inspector Megure, I'll go with you in a couple of days to clear up the statements. I have some things to do now, so I'll be going now. Bye-bye, Hattori."

Ignoring Inspector Megure's hesitant expression, the two excitedly ran back, circled around, and returned to the table where they kept their cameras.

Huh? Where's Shinichi Kudo? Why is Ran eating alone?

No way, no way, the atmosphere was so tense, could it be that Shinichi Kudo couldn't bring himself to say it?

Chu Ming retrieved the camera and, together with Hattori, reviewed the recordings:

After they left, Shinichi Kudo stared intently at Ran, whose face was flushed, and made up his mind: "Ran, I... I've always wanted to tell you this... um, I... I just..."

Ran lowered her head and saw that Shinichi Kudo hadn't been able to say anything for a long time, so her face started to turn redder and redder.

"Um—do you feel really hot?"

Xiaolan waited for a long time, only to receive this sentence. She couldn't hide her disappointment, but still answered him gently: "No, the air conditioner is too high, I still feel a little cold."

Suddenly, Shinichi Kudo clutched his chest as intense heat and pain overwhelmed him, but it only lasted for a moment before gradually subsiding.

However, Shinichi Kudo knew that this was a sign that the medicine's effects were waning, and if he didn't speak up soon, it would probably be too late.

"Xiaolan, I've been investigating a very complicated case lately, and I only managed to come back today. I'll probably have to leave again tonight. Before I go, there's something very important I want to tell you..."

Ran listened to Shinichi Kudo's words with a serious expression.

"Actually, I've never considered you my childhood friend. It's because...because I like you!!" Blushing, Shinichi Kudo finally managed to utter these words. With this foundation, the rest was much easier to say. "A long time ago, I noticed a change in my feelings for you, but this change is so profound that even with all my deductive reasoning, I can't figure out where it started or where it will end. After all, even Sherlock Holmes couldn't determine exactly what it feels like to like someone..."

Ran blushed deeply after being hit by Shinichi Kudo's direct approach. She sat in her chair for a long time, unable to recover. Facing Shinichi Kudo's focused and eager gaze, she whispered something while blushing.

Not only did the camera not record it, but even Shinichi Kudo, who was sitting opposite her, didn't hear it. He stood up to ask, but Ran handed him a cake and covered his mouth. Judging from the video, the atmosphere between the two was very intimate and affectionate, and there seemed to be some sparks between their eyes when they met during the meal.

However, from the camera's perspective, Shinichi Kudo's fingers were trembling slightly, as if he was enduring great pain, but he didn't show it at all. Instead, he ate and talked with Ran as usual until he couldn't bear it any longer and told Ran to run towards the bathroom.

Chu Ming turned off the camera. Hattori, after watching the video, also felt a little disappointed: "I guess Conan will be the one coming back later..."

Chapter 228 Lafitte

Ran sat in her seat waiting for Shinichi Kudo to go to the restroom, but in the end, she was greeted by Conan, who was covered in sweat.

"Sister Ran, Shinichi just asked me to give you this card. He also told me that he's got an urgent lead on a case he's investigating, so..."

Conan looked into Ran's sparkling eyes, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything more.

Having received Shinichi Kudo's confirmation and knowing that her feelings weren't unrequited, Ran was disappointed that she hadn't been able to say goodbye to Shinichi properly. However, remembering the rather sweet confession she had just received, she wasn't too upset. She smiled and invited Conan to sit opposite her: "Conan, would you like some dessert?"

Chu Ming and Hattori quietly left when Conan appeared. The two walked out of the Beika Center building. Hattori thought about Ran's smile earlier, scratched his head, and asked Chu Ming hesitantly, "You know, if I were with Kazuha..."

"Brotherly love has no future, you know that, right?" Chu Mingming knew what Hattori meant, but still deliberately teased him.

Caught off guard by Chu Ming's words, Hattori jumped up and down arrogantly: "That's not what I was asking! What I meant was that if I showed Ye Lu that expression Ran just made, it would definitely look ugly, hahaha..."

Seeing Hattori's forced chuckles, Chu Ming couldn't help but give him a thumbs up. "As expected of you, conversation killer."

"Since you don't want to learn my true skills, I'll be leaving now. If you change your mind, feel free to contact me anytime. Chu Ming's Love Mini-Lesson is always ready to start for you~" Chu Ming gave Hattori a cheeky heart gesture, waved, and slipped away.

Gin just messaged him, saying that Lafitte has just returned from the United States and asked him to come to the base to meet him so that he would at least know that this is a teammate and not hurt his allies.

Lafitte? Never seen him before, but it doesn't matter, he'll just be his new tool from now on.

Having grown tired of Matsutake Yusuke's face before, and having already shown it off to Conan, Chu Ming decided to present a completely new image to his new "tool."

"Big brother~ Vodka Gegg~"

Her long, coffee-colored curly hair cascaded smoothly over her shoulders, and her pale green eyes sparkled with a mischievous light. Two dimples on her face seemed to be brimming with playfulness. Because Gin had complained about her crooked chest last time, Chu Ming simply didn't wear fake breasts this time, making her look exactly like a flat-chested, sweet little loli.

Gin's lips twitched when he heard the voice. Vodka's eyes first flashed with admiration, then he seemed to remember who this person in front of him was, who perfectly matched his aesthetic sense, and couldn't help but step back behind Gin.

"What's wrong with you looking like this?" Gin squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth.

Wearing a pure white gauze dress, Chu Ming, feeling like a little princess, spun around on the spot: "What's wrong? Am I not cute like this?"

Thinking that Gin seemed to have poor taste, Chu Ming turned to Vodka and asked, "Vodka, am I cute?"

Vodka looked at the face before him, a face that held a touch of childlike innocence and purity, yet whose eyes were filled with allure. He adjusted his sunglasses and silently chanted to himself: I can't see, I can't see, I'm blind, I'm blind...

"Tch." Seeing that Vodka was acting aloof and ignoring him, Chu Ming sat back down on the sofa, bored. "Didn't they say a new member was coming? Where is he? Is he going to be late?"

"I arrived at the base 46 minutes, 33 seconds, and 12 milliseconds ago." As the soft voice rang out, a figure dressed in black with white hair slowly descended from upstairs. His white hair was unbound and fluttered slightly with his black trench coat as he walked down the stairs. He had a handsome and indifferent face, long eyelashes, a pair of icy blue eyes like cold stars, a straight nose, and crimson lips.

His ethereal, otherworldly face was matched by his indifferent demeanor.

"This is Lafitte?" Chu Ming was genuinely surprised. He thought that the distillery's appearance was still considered quite good for Gin, but this Lafitte was even better looking than expected.

And this pretentious air of his, tsk tsk, even Gin is outshone.

Lafitte walked downstairs, finally turning his empty, indifferent gaze away from the person sitting on the sofa. For a moment, his pupils contracted slightly, and even his tone couldn't maintain its indifference: "You're Granbury?"

Chu Ming raised his chin slightly: "That's right, I am Granburch. I hereby declare that from this moment on, you are my number one underling!"

Lafitte maintained his otherworldly air: "Heh."

Gin watched as his two underlings maintained their personas with obvious enjoyment. He grinned maliciously, pulled out his gun, and fired a shot at each of them. The two men rolled on the ground in fright, no longer caring about maintaining their composure. Only then did he put the gun away with satisfaction: "Can you talk properly now?"

Lafitte casually pulled out a hair tie and tied her hair up: "Gin, you're getting more and more violent! I just wanted to make a good impression on Granburg since it was my first time meeting her~ How was I? Did I look handsome or ethereal coming downstairs? I posed for ages, squatting on the stairs for ages to look my best the moment I arrived, my legs are numb~"

Chu Ming pouted and continued speaking in a childlike voice, "That's right, that's right, how could Gin-nii-san shoot? It's so dangerous~ I'm so scared~"

"..."

Gin began to consider whether to send Lafitte back to America. Why was he so foolish as to bring him back? Wasn't Chu Ming enough of a headache for him?

It doesn't seem worth it for Shuichi Akai.

Chu Ming and Lafitte exchanged a glance, confirming that they were both people who enjoyed themselves.

Seeing that the two seemed to have a mutual respect, Gin decisively issued the task and sent them away: "Vermouth has infiltrated Teitan High School and made contact with that FBI prosecutor. That woman named Jodie likes to go to the arcade on weekends. Granbury, if you want to get close to her, you can seize the opportunity this weekend. Also, Lafitte, your current task is to do your best to find out about Shuichi Akai. You can continue to use the identity you used in the United States. The news that the genius surgeon Watanabe Wada has returned to Japan and taken up the position of chief surgeon at Beika Hospital has been spread. After that, you will go there to infiltrate."

After handing over the task, Gin couldn't wait to get up and leave, without even having time to greet Vodka.

Chu Ming leaned closer to Lafitte: "Lafitte, he doesn't have a car yet, and he hasn't even had a meal. Do you want one...?"

Lafitte's hand touched Chu Ming's cheek, and with a little force, he pinched off a piece of fake skin: "Who taught you this disguise? It looks a bit fake. A professional doctor could see through it at a glance."

However, since Gin tacitly agreed that Granburch could disguise himself within the organization, Lafitte didn't tear off his fake face.

"That's what Vermouth taught me~"

Lafitte immediately changed his tune: "That means you didn't learn it well enough. Vermouth's disguise skills are simply unparalleled, unmatched, and exceptionally superb—"

"Oh my, Lafitte's evaluation of me is so high, I'm really flattered~" Vermouth appeared behind Lafitte at some point, smiling broadly.

Chu Ming watched as Lafitte secretly wiped away a cold sweat behind him, no longer displaying his previous ethereal demeanor, and clicked his tongue in regret.

He just saw Vermouth come in and was planning to trick her, but Lafitte reacted pretty quickly!